Right, that’s it, I’m going carb free

[Newshoesrubbingmyfeet]

It’s the only thing that’s worked for me in the past. So tired of feeling tired and ill, looking awful and having no confidence. I’m a larger size 16 now and really need to lose it and go back to how I was, I felt amazing slimmer, physically and mentally, could wear what I liked instead of hiding away feeling ashamed.
My plan is to cut out bread, potatoes and pasta completely. I’m guessing a little rice would be ok and some cereal/oats?
Any tips please? 🙏 I’m getting desperate now and feeling really low

Don't do it! You'll be great for a while, then you'll start craving carbs and end up heavier than you were when started. Carbs are necessary for our bodies.

Have you tried WW recently? The new program is brilliant - I've lost 32lb since New Year. I'm 48, menopausal and was a 16 when I started. Genuinely thought this is it, I'm just going to stay fat as all the usual things weren't working or weren't sustainable.

Honestly, give it a go. There's usually a free trial available. It's basically back to basics healthy eating without "bad" foods. The program itself will naturally restrict your carbs to healthier ones in smaller doses.

There is a new low carb Bootcamp starting today on here. Have a look. Usually very helpful and encouraging.

For the best results you should avoid rice, oats, even carby veg like carrots and sweetcorn.
Stick to leafy green veg and salad, spinach, asparagus etc. eggs are really good for this diet, omelettes with ham and mushrooms and cheese, poached eggs, bacon and sausage. Fritata/ tortilla minus the potatoes etc.
I also use loads of herbs and spices, and hot sauce and garlic to get the flavours interesting.
Snacking on prawns, smoked salmon, cooked salmon, sashimi is also really good.
Cream in coffee instead of milk and sugar free monin syrup. Makes it really nice and luxurious tasting!
Good luck. I've found it does offer pretty fast results which is very satisfying.

I am doing the same OP, for the next 8 weeks. I’m not really restricting fruit and veg but cutting out bread/pasta/rice/oats/potatoes. I have PCOS so low carb is the best diet for me.

My plan is to cut out bread, potatoes and pasta completely. I’m guessing a little rice would be ok and some cereal/oats?

It depends how low-carb you are wanting to go. If you just want to cut back, then a little brown rice, and some steel cut oats are fine (but not instant oats), but keep them to small portions occasionally. If you want to go very low, then no.

You've got to do it in a way that you can sustain, so if rice and oats help you to keep this up, then have them.

Have you tried WW recently? The new program is brilliant. When my DH went to the doctor for help with losing weight, he was told that clubs such as WW and SW are now not advised by the NHS and that gentle low carbing was the way to go. So cutting out all white carbs, and keeping other carbs to small portions only, or avoiding all together. Carbs really are not necessary when you are losing weight.

The only way WW (and SW) makes money is because people don’t keep the weight off and keep going back.

I am doing a combination of low UPF and using the Yuka app
This seems to be working for me
I never think cutting out food groups is a great plan

To me, that sounds unsustainable.
However, how about cutting out sugar?

Cutting out a whole food group is unsustainable, especially when you think of the obvious carbs, rather than all the other foods that are also carbs.

It's much more effective to increase your protein at each meal, as well as considering macros.

For me, personally, I need carbs but I need to balance them with protein intake ideally, which naturally means I'll have fewer carbs.

Low carb/carb free is a quick fix OP. Fast results but not sustainable and you'll end up gaining the weight back. Instead of restructing/cutting out food groups, just calorie count. Stopping snacking and taking 10,000 steps a day really made a different for me.

If low carb worked then what happened that you stopped and do you have a plan in place to continue low carb for the rest of your life.
Otherwise you are in danger of reaching goal again, stop, and the cycle continues

Restricting*

What do you mean 'carb free'? You've just said you plan to eat rice and do you know that carbs are present in fruit, vegetables and other food?
Low carb is great, removing processed carbs is great but you need to be educated on what you're eating and not eating

That’s the same with any ‘diet’ though. If you go back to eating the same way you did before, you will go back to the same weight you were before. With any diet anyone undertakes, you need to think about the maintenance phase afterwards. For me, cutting carbs down stops me from craving carbs, which makes it more sustainable than any other diet I’ve tried.

I would start the day with porridge as it’s is carbs and protein and filling and then cut out other carbs through the day. I don’t believe cutting out any food group entirely is healthy and this works for me

Go for it!
Take a look at this for some tips.
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Your plan sounds more low carb than carb free because rice and oats definitely have carbs. It's really hard to go carb free, even veg has carbs.
maybe a healthier way is to do low carb and eat smaller portions of healthy carbs like oats, brown rice, wholemeal bread etc. Just a normal sized portion with your meal. Which is a lot smaller than you probably think. Two to three tablespoons of rice is a portion, one medium slice of bread is a portion. BUPA and Association of UK Dietitians have portion sizes

Isn’t a low carb diet strongly associated with reduced life expectancy? Swapping refined carbs for wholegrains is probably best.

Edited to add source: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30135-X/fulltext

Hasnt there been an increase in heart problems in people who restrict carbs?

If you restrict them too much your body breaks down muscle. It doesn't just focus on fat cells. We need carbs.

Just stay away from refined carbs. The body doesn't know what to do with them anyway part from storing them as fat. There are healthy carbs in the world.

You could do overnight oats with full fat natural yoghurt and frozen berries but only a small amount of porridge oats and have it for breakfast? I’m getting married next year and want to lose A LOT of weight so I’ll be joining you…starting Monday obvs.

For me, even though extreme low carb causes me to lose weight like crazy, I can never sustain it. I think trying to avoid refined carbs like white bread, pasta, chips etc whilst including small portions of wholegrains like brown rice and brown bread is the best approach, or it has been for me! I also try to go heavy on the veg with every meal even though most vegetables are carbs, they aren't refined so its not the same as a plate of pasta.

You're going to upset everyone now OP by saying 'carb free', even though your OP is clear what you mean, you just want to minimise the main carb players rather than 'cut out food groups' as people are so keen on saying.

Yes I eat lower/low carb, I do have porridge in the morning with steel cut oats but I also use rolled oats if we run out, I have dried fruit with that, so thats my biggest intake of starchy carbs through the day

Then each meal is largely protein and veg, I do also have quite a lot of carbs via milk through the day, and things like cottage cheese or greek yoghurt.

My snacks are nuts, cheese, home made plain pop corn (bit carby). I eat quite a lot of pulses and legumes, so they are higher carb but they dont seem to set off cravings in me like bread/pasta/potatoes. I very occasionally eat rice, I make batches of it for the freezer, I do find it quite bloating.

The NHS considers a low carb diet being under 100g of carbs I think or thereabouts, I used to be under 50g and it was better for me but I had to add in my porridge and dried fruits which bumps it up. I dont mind that so much. I tend to hover around 80ish

And the sensible ones who like me need the accountability to stop falling into bad habits, go regularly free of charge to maintain our weight

SW hasnt had a penny from me since November and I still have access to groups and online

It only doesnt work when you stop doing it. And there is no reason to stop doing it, its a healthy balanced diet

You won't like it, but my tip is, don't. You say it's worked, but in the nicest possible way, if you're unhappy with your weight again, it really hasn't, has it? Because worked, means a way of eating that maintains the weight you want to be long term. I'm in my 50s, and for 5 years now I've maintained a BMI of 21 and am 8 stone 10 at 5' 4". I eat all the carbs, just avoid the very processed white ones. I follow a vegan whole foods diet with an emphasis on the most nutritious foods I can find, and avoid eating anything where the only value lies in the taste. Nothing else has worked for me but this.

This, exactly! The way of eating which works for weight management is the one you can sustain, indefinitely. Anything else is simply yo-yo dieting.